Do I Really Deserve This?
by shiki94
Summary: *Two-shot alternate spin on the events of the 2-13-17 and 2-20-17 episodes of RAW* Bayley had successfully won the RAW Women's Championship. But, after really taking in just how she won the belt, one question remains on her mind: "Do I really deserve to have this belt right now?" Rated K (may be upped to T in Part 2).
1. Chapter 1

***walks over to plot animal zoo cage and releases plot elephant that this took on* Be free, fair gentle giant. Roam about now that I've written this up! *coughs* OK. shiki feels the need to do some explaining...which will happen down at the bottom of this part. All I can say for now is that this is Part 1 of a two-shot based around the RAW Women's segment from last week's RAW. To all of you that give this a read, I hope you all enjoy it. =)**

 **(Disclaimer: I own none of the wrestlers used in and mentioned in this story. They are the property of themselves and the WWE. I only own the ideas that went into this two-shot. Now that this author's note is done, hope you guys enjoy. =) )**

She had done it. After being promoted to the main roster and finding her place among the women of the RAW roster, Bayley had finally won the RAW Women's Championship in a main event bout against former champion Charlotte. It all just felt like a dream come true, with her winning the NXT Women's Championship a few years ago almost paling in comparison to this moment.

...But, that wasn't to say that this win came easy.

Down the stretch towards the end of the match, Dana Brooke had come out on Charlotte's behalf to try to help the champion retain her belt, and done a bit to distract the ponytailed brunette so that she wouldn't so easily clench the win. ...Then, the numbers were evened up with former champion Sasha Banks running out to help deal with Dana and to help with distracting Charlotte in her own right so that Bayley could hit a belly-to-Bayley suplex on her and secure the win, thus beginning her first reign as RAW Women's Champion.

It all just felt like a dream. Winning the top prize for the women of RAW, _and_ it all happened in the _main event_ of an episode of RAW?! This all just had to be some kind of crazy dream! ...But, no. It was real. All of that really happened. And now, Bayley had something that could help serve as proof of her hard-fought match and resulting victory.

...That was how the brunette had felt _after_ winning the championship title. Sitting in her hotel room now as she looked at the belt two days after the match, Bayley couldn't help but let two prominent questions float around in her thoughts.

 _"Did I really earn my win for this belt? Do I_ really deserve _to be RAW Women's Champion?"_

Sure she had gotten messages from fans on Twitter and her other social media accounts saying that she deserved the win for the belt. And, sure she had been told similar things by a lot of her friends in the WWE about her big win. But, ...her win just didn't feel... _right._ It just didn't feel like a completely Bayley win, meaning that she won the belt all by herself with _no outside help at all_. While Bayley knew Sasha had meant well in running out to help her out because, with Dana helping Charlotte, chances are she probably wouldn't even have the championship belt now. ...But, even then, getting help from Sasha just didn't feel right. Because, now that she really thought about it, getting help during such a big match felt like a cop-out. _It felt like cheating!_ And cheating was something that _never_ really sat all that well with the ponytailed brunette; even if it was in a simple game like Go Fish, she never really felt all that comfortable with cheating or being cheated.

And this seemed to be even more evident when Charlotte had pulled her aside after the match and told her "Congratulations. Although, the Bayley _I_ know wouldn't be so okay with a win like that. Getting help from others during such a match just doesn't seem like her thing" before heading off to her locker room, with Dana following behind her.

Even though Sasha had told her a number of times that she earned her win, Bayley just didn't want to believe her pink-haired friend was telling her. After all, these were words coming from _Sasha Banks._ Resident _Boss_ in the WWE. One of the most confident women she ever worked with and saw work from. ...And, she was just Bayley. The ponytailed kiddy dork of a wrestling superfan that commanded a wave of inflatable tube men for her entrances and wasn't shy about hugging people. They were two polar opposites, and this especially rang true with their in-ring records. While Sasha wouldn't hesitate sometimes to take any openings she could find in her opponents during a match, Bayley would rather do things fair and square so that her wins would feel big to her. Getting help from Sasha to win the RAW Women's Championship...it just put a big black mark on what was otherwise a pretty darn great match.

So now, here she sat. With a championship belt that she felt like didn't quite earn or deserve to win. ...And feelings of guilt pressing down on her. And, with next week's episode of RAW coming, Bayley just _knew_ she was going to have to address the fans watching in the arena and across the world about how she was feeling after her win. She honestly didn't even know how she could bring herself to show her face to the fans that were so supportive and celebratory of her win this past RAW. She didn't want to disappoint anyone, but at the same time, she didn't want to carry a belt that was a big reminder of the fact that her first big main roster main event championship win was tainted with help from her friend.

 _"What do I do? What do I do?_ What on Earth do I do?!" Bayley thought to herself as she had begun to pace in a bit of a circle at the end of her bed. It wasn't until she had begun to pace about in what seemed like her twentieth circle of the day that Charlotte's words replayed back through her thoughts. _"Congratulations. Although, the Bayley_ I _know wouldn't be so okay with a win like that. Getting help from others during such a match just doesn't seem like her thing."_ Stopping in her tracks, Bayley couldn't help but agree with the whisper of a message

"Charlotte's right. I'm _not_ okay with getting my win like that! Getting help during what was one of the biggest matches of my career...that just wasn't okay. Even though Sash meant well, it still didn't make me winning seem any better," Bayley reasoned out loud. Taking one last look over to where the championship belt was laid across her bed, Bayley thought _'I now know what I have to do'_ with a silent nod of her head.

 **And just what is it that Bayley feels she has to do? That shall be revealed in Part 2. Until then, don't forget to R &R please. =)**

 **(And, here's the explanation I mentioned up at the top (which includes SPOILERS FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN'T SEEN THE PAST TWO RAWs): Last week on RAW (that I delayed my watch of to Wednesday last week on Hulu) saw Bayley coming out to the ring to celebrate with the fans her having won the RAW Women's Championship from Charlotte the week before in a pretty great match. Now, I'm just gonna say that I _was not_ the biggest fan of that whole segment largely because of Bayley came off in it. She got called out by Stephanie McMahon _and_ Charlotte that she got help from Sasha during the match (wherein the Boss only ran out to help because Dana had come out on behalf of Charlotte), and was told that she should "do the right thing" and hand over the belt. Bayley's response = a polite "Hell no" that resulted in me mentally flipping over tables. It's probably just me, but honestly that just seemed out of character for Bayley (the character) to do largely because she's the personification of good in the WWE. Now, unless that's all setting up for her to have some kind of odd heel turn, I _still_ honestly don't know what to make of that segment. I'm probably just making a big deal out of nothing, but it's just something that stuck out to me the most from everything I saw. But, *shrugs* Oh well. Guess we'll have to wait and see just where it all goes from here.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**OK. My apologies for being late with Part 2 of this two-shot. I had been trying my hardest to get this done sooner than now, but work and me getting wiped from said work got in my way...so, to everyone that I kept waiting for Part 2, I hope this pleases those that have been cool enough to give this little two-shot of mine a read. I hope you all enjoy Part 2, my loves. =)**

 **February 20, 2017 - Monday Night RAW**

Tonight was the big night. Tonight was the night that Bayley was expected to make an appearance in front of the WWE fans and address her title win from the week before. This was still something that was making her feel pretty nervous because, even though she did something like this when she had first won the NXT Women's Championship, she was going to have to go out in front of a crowd of _thousands_ -and possibly many more watching at home-of excited fans, just waiting to shower her with congratulations that she still felt like she didn't fully deserve...a full week after her win.

"I can't believe you're actually going to do this, Bayley," Sasha Banks said as she shook her head while sitting backstage with Bayley an hour before her segment.

"Sasha, I _have_ to. OK?" Bayley said to her pink-haired friend before she began to explain herself. "Sasha, look. I know you did what you did last week to help me out, and...I really do want to thank you for that. But it still doesn't help things that I didn't win this belt by myself. And you should know that getting help doesn't fall in with the Bayley way of doing things. ...Which is why I feel like I _should_ give up the belt."

"Still don't really know just _what_ the Bayley way of doing things is," Sasha brought up. "I always thought that was just some way you had of organizing your closet back at your place."

"Well, that's one example of the Bayley way," the ponytailed brunette agreed with Sasha letting out a short laugh. "No, this is a different Bayley way I'm talking about here."

"And that would be... _what_ , exactly?" Sasha asked, hoping to get a clearer answer from the brunette Champion.

"What I mean is that I won it by myself with no help. I'd rather have gotten a clean win all on my own than gotten help to win what's pretty much been my biggest match since I first got to RAW," Bayley explained. "And, again, this isn't to say that you helping me was bad or anything, Sasha. It just...feels bad to me. Makes me feel like I cheated just to win."

While Sasha didn't quite agree with this mindset her ponytailed friend had, she _could_ see where Bayley was coming from. After all, for as long as she had known Bayley, Sasha could say that her friend had some rather...childlike views on certain things, cheating being one of them. But, what she did for her last week, ...the pink-haired former Champion still couldn't see why Bayley saw it as cheating; if anything, she was just evening things up since Charlotte was getting help from Dana Brooke during the match.

"So, you really think that what you did was cheating just because I came out and helped you?" Sasha finally asked. "That it's all enough to make you want to give up the belt?"

"Yeah, Sash, it is. I...I just hope I don't make too many people mad with what I'm going to do," Bayley nervously said, casting a glance over where her belt was.

Seeing the somewhat nervous look on the ponytailed champion's face, Sasha couldn't help the slight laugh that seemed to escape her. Walking over to where Bayley was standing, the pink-haired woman simply raised a hand, and, curling it into a fist, lightly tapped Bayley on the shoulder. With Bayley now looking at her, Sasha said "Bayley, relax. I know that this is something that you _really_ don't want to do, ...but don't worry. I'm sure the fans will understand once they hear you out, they'll understand."

"Thanks, Sasha," Bayley smiled. "At least I know I'll have you on my side when I have to deal with whatever happens after this."

"It's no problem. After all, that's what friends are for," Sasha smiled.

"Yeah. You're right," Bayley agreed with a nod before doing something that had become customary of her, which was giving her pink-haired friend a hug.

"Aren't I always?" Sasha teased. The two had stayed in their hug for a couple minutes longer before a crew member came and told Bayley that it was time for her segment. Pulling away from her friend, Sasha said "Well, looks like you're up. Good luck out there, champ."

"Thanks, Sash," Bayley smiled before giving Sasha a quick hug, grabbing her championship belt, and heading out of her locker room as she made her way to the gorilla and out to her judgment ground.

 _A Couple of Minutes Later_

Standing in the ring, Bayley couldn't help but smile at all of the "You deserve it" chants and just applause and cheers that she was getting from the fans over her championship win. She couldn't help the slight burn of tears that she began to feel from all of this. Sure, she had gotten a fairly large reaction from the fans of NXT when she first won the NXT Women's Championship. But the pop she was getting _now_...it felt unlike anything she ever experienced before.

 _'Oh my god. Everyone's so excited to see me right now. ...It's really going to be a downer when I give this up,'_ Bayley thought, a stray tear rolling down her face.

Raising the mic to her mouth, Bayley began to speak. "Wow. This is...this is all so crazy. Thanks so much for all of the love and support you guys have been giving me. Honestly, I never would've thought something like this would happen to someone like me. I mean, I've been a fan of wrestling my whole life. Why, I even remember when I was a kid. One thing I would _always_ ask my dad to do was to take me to a WWE show whenever one was in town, but we never could because tickets always seemed to be sold out. So, when I could _finally_ go to a show, I just loved my time there. The energy of the fans, the wrestlers in action and the matches they had...now I know how all of you guys feel."

Lowering the mic for a bit as the cheering of the fans seemed to pick up in volume and in number, Bayley raised her mic and continued. "And one thing I always thought was cool was watching matches for championships happen. While I was watching those, I couldn't help but imagine a future me in the ring competing for a championship belt of her own. Which, I can proudly say I've done twice to much success."

As Bayley raised her belt in the air, the fans once again cheered with a large number resuming the "You Deserve It" chants from earlier. At this point, the ponytailed brunette had tears freely streaming down her cheeks over all of the love that she was getting from the fans. Lowering the belt, Bayley took a deep breath in before letting it out. "But, ...that's just the thing. A lot of you guys have been saying that I deserve this, but honestly...I _don't_. No, I _don't_ deserve this belt!"

Hearing their new RAW Women's Champion say this, a large portion of the crowd seemed to erupt in a singular "What?!" while a smaller portion of the crowd could already be heard starting a "NO!" chant, as they seemed to know what was coming next.

Before the fans tried to hijack her promo, Bayley went on to say "Look. I know a lot of you guys are pretty happy that I won last week. And I am too, don't get me wrong. ...I just don't like how I won this belt. While getting help from Sasha saved my chances of winning this, that still doesn't change the fact that I _cheated_. This may not be something that you guys like hearing me say, but I have to get this off my chest. Getting help from Sasha to get the win last week hasn't been sitting well with me, and so...I've come to the decision that I-"

But before Bayley could finish her sentence, the opening of "Recognition" began as the former Champion sauntered out and began to make her way down to the ring, microphone in hand and a smirk on her face.

"Oh, Bayley. You're making the right choice and doing the right thing. After all, you really _didn't_ earn that belt last week when you beat me. I mean, getting help? That's something that I didn't think little Bayley needed in such a big match," Charlotte said as she climbed into the ring.

"Well, actually I didn't. In fact, I'd say that I was doing pretty darn great against you. After all, I _did_ have you on the ropes a few times," Bayley brought up, getting some cheers from the fans.

"That's because I wanted you to feel like you could actually hang with a _real_ champion like me," Charlotte shrugged. "Anything other than that was just pure dumb luck on your end."

"Oh, really? Pure dumb luck?" Bayley asked, beginning to feel a bit annoyed that Charlotte seemed to think the only reason why she was Champion now was all because _she got lucky_. ...And since Charlotte had already mentioned _her_ getting help from Sasha,... "Well, what about _you_ getting help from _Dana_? Care to explain _that_?"

"Dana was just doing what she was felt was the best thing was to keep the match from getting ruined. And, for that, I thank her for what she did," Charlotte defended.

"And, that was what? Trying to keep me held in place so you could land hits on me? _That_ what you call keeping the match from getting ruined?" Bayley asked, slowly beginning to second guess her earlier decision.

"I honestly have _no idea_ what you're talking about," the blonde played innocent. "I just had someone looking out for what was best for the match...and that was _me_ retaining _my_ championship belt. Which, I believe you were about to kindly give back to me."

Hearing all of this, Bayley couldn't seem to believe any of what Charlotte was saying. The whole time the blonde woman had been RAW Women's Champion, Bayley couldn't help but notice that it seemed like with the majority of her title defenses, she always managed to find some way to keep the belt, most of these times being because she got help from Dana. And, now that Bayley had gotten help just _once_ , it was a problem? ...After weighing all of this in her thoughts, Bayley reached a decision. One that, even though it was going against everything in her, was one that she felt was the right choice to make.

"No," Bayley simply said.

Not seeming to believe what the ponytailed brunette just said, Charlotte blinked a bit in disbelief before letting out a scoff of a laugh and saying "I'm sorry. But, _what_ did you just say?"

"Y-You heard me," Bayley stammered a bit before continuing. "I said _No_. I'm not giving you this belt back."

"Oh, come on, Bayley. Are you sure this is what you want to do? Think of your fans and everyone that looks up to you. Do you _really_ want them to see their hero as someone that cheated to win a championship?" Charlotte pressed, in spite of the fans cheering for Bayley.

"If the fans want to see me as a cheater, then...then I'll take that. And I'll work to prove to the fans that I'm no cheater. To prove that I don't need help with winning anything. ...And to prove that I can be one of the best Women's Champions RAW or any part of the WWE has ever seen," Bayley said, stepping a bit closer to Charlotte. "And, that? That's a promise I'm _going_ to keep, starting with our match at FastLane Sunday. Until then, see you later." With that, Bayley dropped her mic and exited the ring to the cheers of fans with some having taken to doing a "YES!" chant. Making her way back up the ramp, Bayley made it up to the TitanTron and the screens before turning and raising her championship belt with a smile on her face as she kept her eyes locked with a slightly fuming Charlotte. Even though she was going against what she originally intended to do, Bayley came out of that whole segment feeling better about herself. Because, now...now she could work from the ground up and prove to Charlotte and her fans that Bayley was _no cheater_. And that Bayley was the RAW Women's Champion that they _deserved_ to have.

 **OK. Just to say this now...I know this probably won't be the ending most people were looking for, but I feel that it's still pretty fitting of Bayley (and it fits in with my ideas I had going for Part 2 of this). After all, it _would_ make sense for _someone_ to point out the times that Charlotte's gotten help in her title defenses, so...Who better than Bayley to do so (...well, Sasha probably would, but I digress...)? And, in the end, with Bayley keeping the belt, it at least gives her the chance to prove to people that may have problems with how she won the RAW Women's shiny in the first place that she can defend it without outside help from others, so...I see that as a win here (from a possible standpoint, at least). *coughs* Rambling ends here! I hope everyone that gave this a read enjoyed "Do I Really Deserve This?"...and I really do hope that Part 2 of this was worth the wait for everyone that I unintentionally kept waiting for this part. ****Don't forget to R &R please, and I'll see you in my next updates and/or ?-shot. *waves* Laters, and good reading! =)**


End file.
